The ABCD scale used to rate grazing land condition is multifaceted, designed to give an indication of the overall features of the landscape, including an assessment of the soil, pasture, weeds and woodlands.

The intention of these sheets is to provide a visual aid in the assessment of land condition in the Burdekin Dry Tropics rangelands.

Photo standards were collected for 15 major land types found in the rangelands of the Burdekin Dry Tropics. For each land type, a range of photos were taken to represent conditions that might be encountered on a pastoral property.

Each photograph captures an average ‘site’ of about 0.25ha (50m x 50m). For each rating (A, B, C or D), on each land type, a single photo was selected as a standard. The standard was selected as the ‘best fit’ to communicate the land condition rating at the time the assessment was conducted.

As in all assessments of this type, no single photograph can capture the range of land condition alternatives possible. However, in some instances a standard depicted of one land type may be transferable to another.